Eternal Darkness
by xxrosethorn
Summary: Sera was prepared for many things. She had spent years in preparation to become a Hunter. She knew she had what it took and was willing to sacrifice everything. She didn't expect to meet Gon and Killua and all the trouble that followed.
1. 000 - A Hunter's Hunter

[000] A HUNTER'S HUNTER

xxx

_A Hunter must always be on the hunt for something._

That was the first bylaw created when they established the Hunters Association.

The thought of becoming a Hunter, an official Hunter, terrified and enthralled Sera. She had turned twelve a few months prior, making her finally eligible to take the Hunter's Exam. If she passed, she would become an official, licensed Hunter.

That thought terrified her, knowing what she knew about Hunters.

But a small voice in the back of her mind corrupted her thoughts. _But you want this. You want the power that comes with being a Hunter._

If her family were still alive, she would not have pursued such a course. Wouldn't have even considered this path of bloodshed and pain. A Hunter was a dark and dangerous career. Lethal. But also powerful. Frighteningly so.

_A Hunter must always be on the hunt for something._

What did Sera want so desperately to hunt down? And was she willing to sacrifice everything, including her family's hopes for her, to obtain it?

Sera swallowed, the elevator descending and descending and descending to the deepest level. This would be her first, last, and only chance at this. If she backed out, she knew she would never have the courage to attempt it again.

Her family never wanted this for her.

The elevator finally stopped. Slowly, the doors parted and she hesitated. It would be easier to stay in this elevator and take it back up to the surface and resume her life. Resume the life her family wanted, the life they sacrificed everything for.

With one breath, Sera stepped forward. Her posture was firm, her eyes keenly forward, her head held high. There was no more room for hesitation. No more chances. This was it. Her fate. She continued forward into the dark tunnel, scarcely lit, but filled with other examinees.

Potential allies. Mostly enemies.

She didn't know why these people wanted to become Hunters, nor did she care. She needed to only focus on herself. Sera knew that if she wavered for even a moment, everything she worked for would be gone.

_A Hunter must always be on the hunt for something._

Prey had just entered a Hunter's den. A sheep in wolf's fur. Sera would not be caught.

Sera was hunting Hunters.


	2. 001 - A Hunter's Start

[001] A HUNTER'S START

xxx

As a twelve-year-old child, Sera had the advantage of looking innocent. As a female, she had the advantage of appearing weak. She intended to use both to make herself seem like she wasn't competition.

She couldn't wait to prove them wrong. Of course, patience was key.

When she first stepped out of the elevator, a green creature appropriately named Bean greeted her warmly. "Here you go," he said before he handed her a number. She glanced at it. Number 213. She wanted to laugh at the irony. Out of all the numbers she could be, she got this one. "Please stick it on your chest and never lose it," he instructed.

She did what he asked before she found a comfortable place to relax before the beginning of the first phase. Sera hoped that because of her "cute" appearance, the other examinees would ignore her.

Instead, she was quickly approached by an overweight man with a wide grin. She inwardly groaned, but faked an innocent smile. His number read 16. Because his number was so low, he must have been one of the first to arrive, indicating he was a veteran to the examination.

"I'm Tonpa," he introduced. "I'm surprised that such a cute little girl managed to find such a place."

Sera bowed as a sign of respect. "Thank you," she replied. "My name is Sera."

"Well, Sera-chan, it's not very often we see little girls attempting the Hunter's Exam. I would know since this is my 35th attempt."

_You shouldn't be proud of that_, she thought to herself, but maintained her polite smile. "You must be very… determined."

"Since you're new and all, would you like to ask me any questions?" He offered, still grinning. His act was suspicious and Sera knew of people who would try to ruin a rookie's chances. He must be one of them, she concluded.

Sera shook her head. "No thanks, I'm good," she declined.

Tonpa frowned. "Are you sure, Sera-chan? I can tell you about some of the other examinees if you want," he offered insistently.

"Alright," she consented, hoping that he would share some information and then leave her alone.

He pointed out some of the more "dangerous" players, the ones who showed the most potential. She took a mental note of each of them. She didn't know if Tonpa was lying or not, but he had no reason to really. She would find out their true skill soon enough.

When he finished his explanation, Tonpa suddenly offered her a drink from the "kindness of his heart" to mark the beginnings of their "new friendship".

Sera glanced at the juice and knew immediately that Tonpa had tampered with it. This was the purpose of him talking to her-so that she could drink something that would make it difficult to complete the exam.

"No thanks," she tried to decline politely. "I'm not thirsty at the moment."

"Oh please?" He insisted. "I want to make a toast to us becoming friends."

He wasn't going to take no for an answer. She didn't want to reveal her cards and ruin her reputation as that "cute and innocent girl" so she was at a loss. A new idea popped into her head.

"Wait," she said, appearing to be shocked. "Is that _orange juice_? Oh, I'm so sorry Tonpa-san, but I can't have that. I'm allergic." He looked shocked at her words, but before he could say something else, she bowed. "Thank you for the help, but I just saw one of my friends over there so I must be going." She ran off with a wave.

This time, she was going to find a better hiding spot. She glanced toward the ceiling and noticed a hanging pipe. With a sudden burst of strength, she hopped easily to grab and and rested on top. Now she had a good view of all the other examinees while remaining undetected.

Sera watched carefully, looking for anyone that posed a threat. She could handle herself, she was fairly confident about that, but she wanted to avoid trouble wherever possible.

The main people she knew to watch out for were a clown and a needled man, #44 and #301 respectively. She could sense their murderous intent before she identified them. They were highly dangerous and most likely able to kill her. The clown especially when she witnessed him turning another examinee's hands into flowers.

Aside from those two, Sera's interest was peaked by two other boys: #99 and #405. They both looked close to her own age, but also demonstrated their own prowess. They were strong, she could tell, and she didn't know anyone her own age that demonstrated so much potential.

#99 was a white-haired, blue-eyed boy who knew that she was there watching him. He glanced, winked at her, and skateboarded around, drinking the same kind of juice Tonpa offered her earlier. _He must have been trained in resisting poison_, she assumed.

#405 actually looked innocent. He was the last one to arrive at the exam before they closed off entries. He had spiky black and green hair and a face that showed no ill intent. Yes, these two boys made her curious indeed.

A wall suddenly caved an opening and the first examiner appeared. "Sorry to keep you waiting for so long," he said. "Now, we have come to the end of the exam registration. And so, the Hunter Exam begins now!"

With a robotic movement, the examiner took off in a direction, indicating that the candidates should follow. With a graceful leap, Sera landed back on the ground and followed the Hunter. It was all or nothing now.


	3. 002 - A Hunter's Introduction

[002] A HUNTER'S INTRODUCTION

xxx

Sera could run for days if she needed to. She doubted that it would come to that in the first phase of the Exam, but if she needed to, she could.

She placed herself in the middle of the group of runners. Blending in was the most optimal choice as to not attract unwanted attention. Yet, a voice attracted her attention.

"Hold it right there, you brat!" Someone shouted and Sera initially believed that he was referring to her. "Don't underestimate the Hunter Exam!" She glanced over her shoulder and noticed a man berating #99 for using a skateboard instead of running.

"What do you mean?" The white-haired boy asked casually as he continued on his skateboard.

"I'm talking about that skateboard! Isn't that cheating?"

"How so?"

Sera couldn't help but laugh. "You can ignore him," Sera interjected. "He's just jealous… and an idiot," she added as she told the boy her age.

"Why you!" The man glared at her. "Treat your elders with some respect!" He screamed.

Sera ignored him. She focused on the blue-eyed boy and smiled. She shifted her body and started running backwards (which just angered the man even more to her pleasure). "Do you know any tricks?" She asked him, referring to the skateboard.

The boy nodded with a smirk. "I can show you later if you'd like."

Hated that he was being ignored, the man yelled, "Hey, this is an endurance test! You can't just be riding a skateboard!"

Sera rolled her eyes, but a new voice-#405-interrupted this time. "No, it's not," he said simply. "The examiner only told us to follow him."

"Whose side are you on, Gon!" The man, who could only be loud, screeched.

#99, intrigued by the green and black-haired boy, skated over to him. "Hey, how old are you?"

"I'm 12," Gon admitted.

The two boys glanced back at Sera, silently asking for her to answer as well. Sera smiled sweetly. "I'm 12, also."

The white-haired boy suddenly jumped off his board easily and started running. Gon and Sera looked impressed.

"That was cool!" Gon said excitedly. Sera nodded in agreement. She decided it would be interesting to run at the same pace as these two boys.

"I'm Killua," the white-haired boy finally shared.

"I'm Gon."

"Sera, nice to meet you," she said politely.

The three children ran together until Gon suddenly stopped, forcing the other two to stop as well.

"What's wrong, Gon?"

Killua glanced at the man who Gon called Leorio earlier. "Leave him alone. Let's go."

Sera silently agreed, but didn't voice her thought. _Why would Gon wait for him?_

Without warning, the tired man suddenly burst forth with a new sense of determination and speed. Gon was smiling and Sera laughed.

Gon used his fishing pole to collect Leorio's forgotten briefcase. "Cool!" Killua said, amazed by Gon's skill. "May I borrow your toy after this?"

"You should lend me your skateboard in exchange."

"Me too!" Sera added as they all continued running. Killua gave her a glance.

"No, girls can't ride skateboards," he said.

Sera's innocent appearance disappeared and was replaced with a devil-like aura. Killua internally shivered. "_What. Did. You. Say_?"

"Nothing!" He quickly took it back. "Of course, you can borrow my skateboard," he said.

Sera's innocent expression returned and she nodded. "Thank you, Killua-kun."

_Note to self, never piss off that girl_, Killua internally thought.

xxx

"Gon, Sera, do you want to bet who here will reach the finishing line first?"

"Sure, losers buy the winner dinner," Gon replied with a smile.

"I'm in," Sera said. "Ready, go!" She said without warning and raced ahead, leaving the two boys confused.

"That's cheating," Killua barked out.

Sera laughed. "Afraid to lose to a girl?" She taunted.

"In your dreams!"

The three kids raced up the stairs as if the examination was nothing more than a game.

xxx

At some point, Sera, Gon, and Killua caught up with Leorio and a feminine boy Gon introduced as Kurapika.

"Scarlet eyes," Kurapika said solemnly to Leorio. "That's why the Kurta Clan was besieged. Scarlet eyes are a trait exclusive to the Kurta Clan. Whenever we experience intense emotions, our pupils would turn fiery red like a raging blaze. Such a dazzling scarlet glow was widely acclaimed as one of the seven wonders of the world. And they're extravagantly priced on the black market."

Sera remembered reading about the events of the Kurta Clan. She never expected that she would meet the last surviving member of the Clan at the Hunter Exam. To lose his entire family like that is similar to her own and she pitied Kurapika as a result.

"I won't stop until I get my hands on the Phantom Troupe," Kurapika said, his eyes blazing with determination. She believed him. He would not stop unless he was dead.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Kurapika." She said and he turned to her with a look of confusion.

"And you are?"

"Sera," she said simply. "But your woes are similar to mine. When I was just a baby, my entire people were killed, murdered, for no other reason than we were different. An outsider saved me. But all 212 members of my family were killed."

Kurapika's eyes widened in shock. Sera laughed weakly.

"And here I am now, #213, taking the exam that will make me one of them."

"One of 'them'?" He asked, not understanding.

"Ironic, isn't it? I want to become a Hunter. But it was the Hunter's Association that ordered the kill on my family."

Everyone stared at her. "What do you mean?" Killua finally asked.

"The Nosferatu were a group of peaceful people. But, they were different than humans. Labeled by Hunters as 'Magical Beasts', they were considered a threat that needed to be eliminated."

"What made them considered so dangerous?" Gon asked.

"Simply put, Nosferatu can drain a person's life force by touch." She held up her hand and stared at it, her eyes showing her sadness.

Leorio instantly distanced himself from her and Sera laughed. "Relax, one touch won't kill you. It's a little hard to explain. Everything living has a 'life force' of sorts. They naturally and unknowingly produce it and release it. Nosferatu, however, cannot produce their own 'life force'. We survive on taking it from beings that can. Technically, I don't need to touch you to take it. I'm taking some as we speak. Not a lot, but some. Touching someone is far easier though."

"But if your clan was peaceful, why did the Hunters kill them?"

"Lack of understanding. Fear?" Sera shrugged. "I don't know. The Nosferatu only took from willing volunteers and never killed anyone. There was no reason to…" Sera swallowed. "There was no reason to murder them. But when I learned the truth, I decided I would become a Hunter. And I would hunt down the person who ordered the hit."

"Do you know who that is?"

Sera nodded. "It's none other than Isaac Netero, chairman of the Hunter's Association and Head of the Exam Commission."

"You want to kill the person in charge of the Hunter Exam?" Leorio exclaimed.

Sera smirked.


End file.
